Tubular hair curler with means for enclosing a coil spring



Oct. 24, 1967 N. L. SOLOMON TUBULAR HAIR- CURLER WITH MEANS FOR ENCLOSINQ A COIL SPRING Filed Oct. 2'7, 1964 FIG. I

INVENTOR. NATHAN L. SOLOMON BY A ATTORNEYS 3,348,554 TUBULAR HAIR CURLER WITH MEANS FOR ENCLOSING A COIL SPRING Nathan L. Solomon, P.O. Box 550, Englewood, NJ. 07631 Filed Oct. 27, 1964, Ser. No. 406,741 Claims. (Cl. 132-39) This invention relates to a device for forming a curl in the hair and particularly to a hair curler useful for self-application to curl a swatch of hair.

A hair curler to perform satisfactorily must have certain features. It must be relatively firm to hold the curl body, but yet be flexible and squeezable to allow for the hair strands to elongate and contract during the curling process. It must be durable and be compatible with the various liquids used in the cold waving processes today. Since the hair styles fashionable today require a large number of curlers of varying diameter to be used, to secure the desired effect a primary requisite of a curler is that it be light in weight and allow free evaporation of any liquids that are used in the curling process. The curler must be economical to make, be easy to assemble and use even by inexperienced users.

Heretofore, a popular curler utilized a steel coil, which supported and was surrounded by a fiber mesh, the ends of which were tucked in at opposite end-s of the coil. The coil provided the support for the curl, while the mesh overlay supported the individual hair strands. A serious problem with these curlers was that the cross strands of the mesh shifted and the ends of the mesh unraveled during the curling operation causing the hair of the curl to sag between the consecutive helices, which adversely affected the look of the finished curl. Additionally, these curlers required a high degree of hand labor in assembling and mounting the mesh onto the coil, thereby raising the cost. The spring had to be centered within the mesh, so that sufiicient overlap was provided at each end to tuck in the mesh. This increased the assembling time as well as the cost.

Various attempts have been made to overcome these deficiencies and in fact replace this type of curler with plastic rollers. Also, a brush was inserted within the curler body and its bristles extended radially outwardly through the mesh to hold the mesh in position and prevent movement of the mesh on the metal coil. This materially increased the weight of the curlers and made the curler uncomfortable to sleep on and to wear, since the sharp bristles irritated the scalp of the wearer.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a hair curling device of simple construction that will positively engage the ends of a swatch of hair preparatory to winding the hair onto the body member, is inexpensive to fabricate and is lightweight and durable in use.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a hair curling device which provides a mesh for mounting about the outer peripheral surface of a metal coil, which provides a positive stop for one end of the metal coil, so that the curler is quickly and easily assembled.

It is a still further object 'of the present invention to provide a hair curling device, which utilizes a self-centering mesh tube, having a stop at one end of the tube, which anchors a spring coil within said tube for forming a highly flexible curling member, which readily conforms to the surface of the head of the user and allows any moisture in the hair to freely evaporate and in which individual strands of the mesh are bonded to prevent any lateral movement or displacement resulting in an unsightly curl.

Other objects and features of the invention will be apparent when the following description is considered in connection with the annexed drawings, in which:

I United States Patent 0 FIGURE 1 is an exploded longitudinal view of the components of a hair curler, made in accordance, with the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a longitudinal front elev-ational view of an assembled curling device made in accordance with the present invention showing the metal coil telescopically received within a mesh tube; and

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary cross-sectional view of opposite ends of the curling device.

One embodiment of the present invention is shown in the drawings in which a generally elongated, thin-walled, tubular body member 11 has a pair of circumferentially continuous integral end rings 13 and 15.The wall structure of body member 11 as shown, comprises a plurality of generally parallel helical strips 17 interconnecting opposite end rings 13 and 15. A series of helical strips 19 are of the opposite hand than strips 17 and interconnect helical strips 17. Strips 19 extend also from one end ring 13 to the other and ring 15. Where helical strips 17 and 19 interconnect, they are bonded. The space formed between helical strips 17 and 19 are ventillating perforations to aid in the evaporation of any liquid used in or during the setting process. As will be discussed hereafter, since body member 11 only prevents the hair strands from falling between successive coils, it can be made with large openings and small width strips 17 and 19. This materially reduces weight and aids drying.

Advantageously, extending radially outwardly from strips 17 and 19 are a plurality of teeth or bristles 21. The interior circumferential surface formed by strips 17 and 19 is preferably uniform.

End ring 13 has an interiorly directed, radially extending flange or rib 23, which forms a shoulder 24. Flange 23 has an inner diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the circumferential surface formed by strips 17 and 19.

End ring 15 has an interiorly directed, radial flange 25, which forms a shoulder 26. Flange 25 has an inner diameter smaller than the inner diameter of flange 23, and the inner diameter of the surface formed by ribs 17 and 19.

Telescopically received within body member 11 is a spring coil 27 advantageously made of flexible metal. Advanta-geously, coil 27 has its ends 29 and 31 respectively, formed generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of coil 27 and each is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the remaining helices of coil 27, as illustrated in FIGURE 3. The outer diameter of coil 27 is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the circumferential surface formed by strips 17 and 19 to allow freedom of movement between coil 27 and the surface formed by strips 17 and 19 during bending or flexing.

To assemble the curling device, coil 27 is forced past rib 23 which resiliently deforms during passage of coil 27, and coil 27 is telescopically received within body member 11. As seen in FIGURE 3 in assembled relation, coil end 29 abuts flange 23 of end ring 13 and is securely received. Coil end 31 cannot be easily forced past flange 25 of end ring 15. Coil end 31 is anchored adjacent flange 25, so that coil 27 is securely mounted within body member 11. The length of coil 27 in its expanded, unstressed position is slightly greater than the overall length of body member 11, so that coil 27 is retained in position in a compressed state between rib 23 and flange 25.

In using the device, a quantity of individual strands of a swatch of hair is spread upon the outer peripheral surface or body member 11. Bristles 21 engage the ends of the individual strands of hair in the swatch holding them positively in place with the curler surface without any further act or operation of the user required. Body member 11 is then rotated in the direction to wind the swatch of hair onto the outer peripheral surface of body member 11. After the hair is wound on the curling device,

a a any convenient means may be used to hold the hair in place and to retain the curler from being accidentally displaced from the hair, such as by a bobby pin, clip, pin or resilient cord.

Advantageously, the body member 11 is formed from plastic material having reasonably high flexibility so .that the resulting molded curler is light in weight and economical in cost. The strips 17 and 19 are preferably made relatively thin, so that the tubular body formed by strips 17 and 19 is yieldable and bendable, so as to be readily conformed to the scalp of the user. The metal coil provides relative firmness required to adequately support the curl on the curler.

The present invention provides a molded integral flexible mesh tube with a stop at one end and undercut area at the other end for anchoring spring member interiorly. This invention provides a curler having all the advantages of the prior mesh type roller but eliminates the tucking and slippage of the individual strands of mesh as well as holding the coil spring in compression to provide a more alive curler, to resist flattening during the drying of the curl wound about the curler body. The present invention allows the mesh tube and the coil spring to become two flexible members superposed one on the other, and is easily assembled. The spring is selfinserted within the tubular body and is automatically centered in operative position.

While a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described, it is understood that many varia tions can be readily apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the foregoing description shall be deemed illustrative only and not construed in a limiting sense, the present invention being defined solely by the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A hair curling device comprising a generally onepiece tubular body member having end rings at opposite ends and having an interstitial pliable wall structure intermediate of said end rings and integrally connecting said end rings, each of said end rings having an interiorly directed shoulder, one of said shoulders having a smaller interior diameter than the other of said shoulders and each of said shoulders having a smaller inner diameter than the inner diameter of said tubular wall structure, and a coil spring formed of a series of helices having an outer diameter substantially equal to the inner diameter of said tubular wall structure, said spring being telescopically received within said tubular body member having its opposite end helices abutting corresponding shoulders.

2. A hair curling device comprising a generally onepiece tubular body member having end rings at opposite ends and having an interstitial pliable wall structure intermediate of said end rings and integrally connecting said end rings, each of said end rings having an interiorly directed shoulder, one of said shoulders having a smaller interior diameter than the other of said shoulders and each of said shoulders having a smaller inner diameter than the inner diameter of said tubular wall structure, and a coil spring formed of a series of helices having an outer diameter substantially equal to the inner diameter of said tubular Wall structure, the end helix at least at one end having a larger diameter than the other helices of said coil spring, said spring being telescopically received wtihin said tubular body member having its larger diameter helix abutting said other shoulder.

3. A hair curling device comprising a generally tubular body member having end rings at opposite ends and having an interstitial wall structure extending integrally from said end ring for forming the wall of said tubular body intermediate of the end rings, one of said end rings having a flange radially and interiorly directed, said flange having an interior diameter smaller than the interior diameter of said wall of said tubular body, the other end ring having a rib radially and interiorly directed, said rib having an inner diameter intermediate of the inner diameter of said flange and the inner diameter of said tubular wall, and a helical coil spring having an outer connected by a plurality of pliable strips, said strips defining the wall of said tubular body intermediate of said end rings, said wall containing a multiplicity of apertures, one of said end rings having an interiorly directed radial flange extending therefrom, the other of said end rings having an interior radially directed rib, said rib having an inner diameter smaller than the inner diameter of said wall of tubular member and larger than the inner diameter of said flange, and a coiled spring having an outer diameter slightly smaller than the inner diameter of said wall of said tubular body, said spring in unstressed condition having a length slightly greater than the length of said tubular body, said spring being telescopically received Within said tubular body having one end abutting the inner surface of said flange and the other end abutting the inner surface of said rib.

5. A hair curling device comprising a one-piece generaly tubular body having a pair of end rings integrally connected by a plurality of pliable strips, said strips defining the wall of said tubular body intermediate of said end rings, said wall containing a multiplicity of apertures, one of said end rings having an interiorly directed radial flange extending therefrom, the other of said end rings having an interior radially directed rib, said rib having an inner diameter smaller than the inner diameter of said wall of tubular member and larger than the inner diameter of said flange, and a coiled spring having an outer diameter slightly smaller than the inner diameter of said wall of said tubular body, said coil having a series of helices with the end helix at least at one end having a larger diameter than the other helices of said coil spring, said spring being telescopically received within said tubular body having its larger diameter helix abutting said rib.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,126,020 3/1964 Sidelman 132-54 3,170,469 2/1965 Solomon 13239 3,204,645 9/1965 Sidelman 13241 RICHARD A. G AUDET, Primary Examiner.

L. TRAPP, Examiner, 

1. A HAIR CURLING DEVICE COMPRISING A GENERALLY ONEPIECE TUBULAR BODY MEMBER HAVING END RINGS AT OPPOSITE ENDS AND HAVING AN INTERSTITIAL PLIABLE WALL STRUCTURE INTERMEDIATE OF SAID END RINGS AND INTEGRALLY CONNECTING SAID END RINGS, EACH OF SAID END RINGS HAVING AN INTERIORLY DIRECTED SHOULDER, ONE OF SAID SHOULDERS HAVING A SMALLER INTERIOR DIAMETER THAN THE OTHER OF SAID SHOULDERS AND EACH OF SAID SHOULDERS HAVING A SMALLER INNER DIAMETER THAN THE INNER DIAMETER OF SAID TUBULAR WALL STRUCTURE, AND A COIL SPRING FORMED OF A SERIES OF HELICES HAVING AN OUTER DIAMETER SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL TO THE INNER DIAMETER OF SAID TUBULAR WALL STRUCTURE, SAID SPRING BEING TELESCOPICALLY RECEIVED WITHIN SAID TUBULAR BODY MEMBER HAVING ITS OPPOSITE END HELICES ABUTTING CORRESPONDING SHOULDERS. 